


Frequent Fliers

by SkylandMountain1013



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, MSR, XF Writing Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 20:11:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5219216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylandMountain1013/pseuds/SkylandMountain1013





	Frequent Fliers

**1996**

_We’ll be pushing back from the gate in just a few moments, so at this time we ask that you turn off all electronic devices and please fasten your seatbelts._

Scully instinctively gives a tug on the strap of her belt. She prefers the open road to the friendly skies without question. 

Her scientific mind tells her that likelihood of a plane crash is minuscule, but she still doesn’t completely believe that being catapulted into the sky is a safe form of transportation. She makes sure to read the safety card before each flight, and always knows where her closest exit is. 

It took but mere weeks at the start of their partnership to determine that Mulder was quite the opposite. She wasn’t surprised. As soon as the jet engines start rumbling, he turns into a child in a man’s body– face pressed against the window, counting cars and tracing rivers with his finger as the distance between the ground and them grows. 

The plane departs the gate and takes a right turn onto the runway. She’s straight as a board against the seat back, arms flat against the dividers. She takes a deep breath and forces her eyes shut. If she can get past the take off, she has a good two hours to rest before they start descending. 

“Hey Scully. Did you hear about the pilot who always had work?” It’s become an unspoken ritual from him to her- Mulder takes it upon himself to distract her during the start and ends of flights. Every time they fly, the first and last 10 minutes are completely dedicated to calming her mind. Sometimes he reads articles aloud from the in-seat magazine, other times he tells tales of greek goddesses ascending to the sun. Lately it’s been bad jokes.  

She gives him a tight smile but doesn’t open her eyes. “No.” 

“He was great at landing a job.”

They pick up speed and the roar of the engines start to vibrate through the floor. Her arm slides off the arm rest and onto his hand . She squeezes it as she feels the familiar lurch of the plane leaving the ground. 

As their altitude increases, Scully wills herself to focus completely on Mulder’s voice beside her. 

“.. and when you’re wearing a watch on a plane, time flies.”

One eye opens. “Okay– that one is bad. Even for you.”

Mulder shrugs. “Hey. I’m doing my best here.”

The plane levels out and Scully relaxes. It’s only then that she notices that her hand is still in his. Her cheeks flush red as she moves it back to her side of the seat. 

“Thanks,” she offers, and reaches under the seat to pull a case file out of her bag. 

* * *

**2001**

Mulder returns to the row of seats at the gate, triumphantly waving two passes in his right hand. 

He drops one in her lap. “First class.”

“Mulder!” She laughs and shakes her head. “We are going to get killed when we get back.  _Killed_.”

He sits down and makes an extravagant show of stretching his arm across the seat backs. His hand lands on her shoulder and immediately starts making slow circles from her neck to her elbow. “Well. We are movie stars now. Only the best.”

He pauses for a beat. 

“Also, Skinner never technically told us when to stop using the Bureau credit card.”

Their boarding group is called soon after, and he ushers to the jetway first, rolling both of their bags behind him. 

The seats are everything she had hoped they would be- plush and comfortable, with retractable arm rests and ample leg room. Once she fastens her seatbelt, she pulls the provided blanket over her lap. She can feel Mulder leering at her as she studies the emergency exits. 

“Our closest exit is behind us,” she recites, as they start their journey to the runway. 

His hand is skittering under the blanket towards the hem of her skirt. Fingers meet the flesh of her inner thigh and she bats at him from atop the blanket. “Mulder, we’re in public,” she hisses. “What are you doing?”

He leans in close, and she can feel his breath on her neck. “Distracting you.” His teeth grasp her earlobe and tug slightly. His hand has continued it’s assault on her upper leg and she’s embarrassed to feel how wet her underwear is already. 

Fingers tug the fabric of her underwear to the side as the plane picks up speed. She takes in a sharp breath. 

She flips up the armrest between them to allow him better access. It’s an awkward angle, but she can still feel the bulge in his jeans up against her leg. 

“Why Agent Mulder,” she all but purrs, “is that an oversized carry-on? Or are you just happy to see me?”

His whole body shakes with laughter, and she is delighted.

The engines roar, and they mask her moan as he slams two fingers inside of her. 

* * *

**2016**

It’s a small victory that she hasn’t had to get on a plane in four years. 

She gives an apology and a small smile to the gentleman in the middle as she climbs over him to get to the window seat. Two weeks back at the FBI, and she is on her way to Texas to investigate a series of unexplained deaths at an oil factory. 

Mulder had offered to fly out with her, which she politely declined, using the ruse of needing to visit her mother in the morning before heading to the airport. She’s not ready for 1400 miles of nothing to do but avoid talking about where they failed each other. So he had flown out the night before, promising to track her flight and meet her in the cell lot of the San Antonio Airport. 

Seat belt fastened and safety video watched, Scully leans back and tries not to think. The silence is deafening. Her stomach still flips as the plane’s wheels fold into their compartments. 

The pilot announces that they have reached their cruising altitude, and she reaches for her phone. Hooking into the plane’s wifi, she sees two text notifications from Mulder. 

_Hey Scully. Why was there mistletoe hanging over the airport baggage counter?_

_So passengers could kiss their luggage goodbye._

A sound escapes her lips, and she’s not sure if it’s a laugh or a sob. 


End file.
